Mission: The Oklahoma Engineering Foundation is an organization of engineers, educators, and industry and community partners committed to furthering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education in Oklahoma, producing engineering professionals, and employing them in Oklahoma.

Vision: The Oklahoma Engineering Foundation will ENGAGE students in middle and high school, ENCOURAGE collegiate students through scholarships, and EMPOWER those students to succeed in engineering careers due to partnerships with industry and community leaders.

Focus: Uniting Forces with other STEM Initiatives aligned with our mission and vision.

The Oklahoma Engineering Foundation is ENGINEERING Oklahoma...one student at a time.

OEF is constantly seeking volunteers for our programs: Future City Competition Mentors, Engineering Fair Ambassadors, and MATHCOUNTS graders, proctors, and judges. Programs begin in late January and end in early March.

OEF also is working to expand our community outreach through professional development opportunities for educators and by bringing hands-on STEM activities to the classroom.

Mission: The Oklahoma Engineering Foundation is an organization of engineers, educators, and industry and community partners committed to furthering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education in Oklahoma, producing engineering professionals, and employing them in Oklahoma.

Vision: The Oklahoma Engineering Foundation will ENGAGE students in middle and high school, ENCOURAGE collegiate students through scholarships, and EMPOWER those students to succeed in engineering careers due to partnerships with industry and community leaders.

Focus: Uniting Forces with other STEM Initiatives aligned with our mission and vision.

The Oklahoma Engineering Foundation is ENGINEERING Oklahoma...one student at a time.

BackgroundThe Oklahoma Engineering Foundation has a long history of success. With its bountiful beginnings in 1975 and with support from the Oklahoma Society of Professional Engineers, OEF built the Oklahoma Engineering Center, pioneered the Engineering Fair in 1980, introduced Oklahoma to MATHCOUNTS in 1983, and brought the Future City Competition to Oklahoma in 2006.

- over 1000 middle and high school students participated in the 34th Annual OEF Engineering Fair at the Science Museum Oklahoma

- 664 middle-school students statewide went through the Oklahoma MATHCOUNTS program (competitions ranging from in-school competitions, regional competitions, state competition, and national competition)

- OEF currently provides 10 scholarships for Oklahoma collegians enrolled in the Engineering Departments at Oklahoma universities received substantial financial support through the OEF Scholarship Program.

For 2016, OEF strives to:

1) Not only continue but lengthen our reach into Oklahoma schools through strategic partnerships with educational

2) Increase statewide awareness of STEM education opportunities and the need to engage students in STEM education and encourage students to pursue STEM careers.

3) Provide opportunities for current Engineers in Oklahoma to serve as role models for students and increase awareness of the invaluable contributions engineers make to our state and its economy.

4) Support other STEM initiatives with the end goal of raising up new generations of Oklahoma Engineers and creating the jobs to keep them in Oklahoma past graduation.

Needs

1. VOLUNTEERS: The Oklahoma Engineering Foundation is fueled by its volunteer base. As the OEF volunteer base phases out of volunteerism, we are actively seeking more volunteers to help shape students' perspectives of the STEM fields. Volunteers need not be engineers but rather someone passionate about STEM, Oklahoma, and/or education.

2) SUPPORT: OEF's greatest limitation is resource funding. Donors (corporate and individual) have been faithful to keep our current programming alive, but to branch out and offer more options to attract the next generation of engineers requires additional funding. Participating in our OCCF endowment, fundraising events, corporate matching programs, or annual fund helps us make a difference--not only in a student's life, but in the lives of your fellow Oklahomans.

3) MENTORS: We receive requests weekly from schools/parents/individuals looking for engineering mentors. Arrangements can be made to accommodate any time a mentor can give.

4) AMBASSADORS: Frankly, OEF is one of Oklahoma's best kept secrets. Consider becoming an OEF Ambassador and spreading the word about OEF, its programs, and its mission within your circle of influence.

Our organization has been around since 1975, providing STEM programs to middle and high school students. While our impact has been great throughout the years, I am extremely excited about the future growth potential of STEM education.

Our small but mighty organization must work every day to promote our programs and increase community awareness. I just recently joined this organization in late October 2014 and have quickly learned through talking with STEM leaders, that OEF has only one way to go in name recognition – UP!

Our main focus has been to provide quality STEM programs to Oklahoma’s youth, but with your support, our reach can become even greater. Here is a glimpse of our impact:

Over 84,000 students and teachers have participated in the OEF Engineering Fairs

Nearly 9,000 Mathletes have competed in the regional and state MATHCOUNTS competitions

Over $314,000 in scholarships have been awarded to Oklahoma students studying Engineering in Oklahoma universities.

The work those before me have poured into these programs has been great and I’m honored to carry forward their efforts. But there is so much more to accomplish. With your help, I know we can increase these numbers as well as provide the tools and resources educators, parents, and students need to be successful in pursuing STEM education. We must work together to provide a multitude of STEM opportunities to students, teachers, and parents across the state and increase OEF’s impact within Oklahoma’s STEM education system.

The Oklahoma Department of Commerce projects 6,260 STEM job openings per year in Oklahoma over the next ten years. That is over 62,000 new jobs for Oklahomans.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education indicate that Oklahoma has only graduated on average 4,171 STEM field graduates over the past three years.

A gaping disconnect remains between the demand and the supply for quality STEM professions in Oklahoma. Current research indicates that students must be engaged with science, technology, engineering, and math by middle school in order to be fully prepared for and able to remain loyal to the field throughout college.

The responsibility to attract these students falls to us. The Oklahoma Engineering Foundation and its partners—corporate and individual—must ENGAGE students by informing them of the true nature of the engineering field and the opportunities a STEM education can provide, ENCOURAGE students to develop the math, science, and critical thinking skills needed to succeed in engineering, and EMPOWER students to pursue engineering by offering programs and scholarships to ignite their creativity. If we accomplish these three things, a student is far more likely to continue on the engineering path and continue their STEM education.

Partnerships are vital to the future success of STEM education and the Oklahoma Engineering Foundation. I encourage you to join us in our quest to enhance STEM education opportunities for Oklahoma’s youth and their teachers.

Together, we can impact future industry leaders and ensure their STEM education is the best in the nation.

You've read about the programs provided and students impacted by the Oklahoma Engineering Foundation (OEF) over the last 40 years.

But has OEF been able to do enough?

The vision of the 2015-16 Board of Trustees is to continue to expand OEF’s reach within Oklahoma and inspire more students to pursue careers in the science, technology, engineering, and math—through expanding our existing programs and partnering with STEM minded organizations.

Oklahoma's continued success is dependent on providing quality education programs for the future leaders of our state and OEF is working every day to make this happen. Please join us in engineering Oklahoma, one student at a time.

DescriptionA nationally recognized mathematics competition and classroom program, MATHCOUNTS is for students who love math and students who fear math, meaning it's for everyone. OEF, through the MATHCOUNTS program, works to increase math literacy among middle school students and provide the tools and resources for teachers to lead their students through the rigorous math problems to become successful in the regional and state competitions.

OEF hosts regional competitions Wilburton, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Lawton, and new in 2016, Alva - reaching the students in the northwest area of our state. The top performing students in the regional competitions advance to the State competition, where they work through grueling math exams and a countdown round to vie for a spot to advance to the National competition.

These competitions increase math literacy and enable students to interact with their peers in other schools, enabling them to build a network of friends that can support each other in their math education and work to help each other succeed in their secondary education.

Increasing math literacy is extremely important to the success of all students. The OEF MATHCOUNTS program works to increase math literacy across the state of Oklahoma and provide incentives for students to study difficult math concepts through the competition series.

By nurturing the math roots of each student, OEF is nurturing the future success of our state. Math is the not only the root of all STEM, it is the root of economic success.

Program Success MonitoringHelpDescription of the tools used to measure or track program impact.Each year OEF hosts a Teachers' Workshop in Oklahoma City and Tulsa to provide opportunities for teachers/MATHCOUNTS coaches, to learn new and interesting ways to teach math concepts. During these workshops the teachers are encouraged to provide feedback on the previous year's competitions as well as bring feedback from their students. Additionally, OEF encourages parents, teachers, and students to contact us throughout the year to provide feedback on the program.

Each year, OEF increases participation in the program by at least 10 percent. Our efforts to increase math literacy through the MATHCOUNTS Competition Series has been noticed and we have a new coordinator for the Northwest Region of our state. The newest competition will be held in Alva in 2016 and we look forward to impacting math literacy in that part of our state.

OEF will continue our efforts to grow this program and provide as many math learning opportunities as funding allows.

The Senior Showcase & Engineering Innovation Award is a new program started in 2013. Partnering with Project Lead the Way (PLTW), OEF hosts an event showcasing the senior capstone projects of PLTW students across the state. A panel of judges assembled by OEF reviews their presentations, and OEF awards the Engineering Innovation Award to the top-ranked team. This program promotes the incredible pre-engineering work being accomplished by our high school seniors.

The Oklahoma Engineering Foundation has steadily provided quality science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs in our state for the last 40 years. But we are not satisfied with the status quo.

OEF is on the cusp of increasing our impact three-fold through the creation of new programs, education professional development opportunities, and increased collegiate scholarship awards. This forward motion will not be possible without increased support and involvement from individuals, business and industry, and education partners who have a vested interest in STEM education and the future success of our state.

STEM may be the new "buzzword" but it's so much more. STEM means quality jobs, increased salaries, a path to climb out of poverty, and an increased quality of life for all Oklahomans.

Join OEF today in engineering Oklahoma, one student at a time.

CEO/Executive Director

CEO/Executive DirectorAdrianne Covington Graham

Start DateOct 2014

Emailadrianne@oef.org

Experience

Adrianne
Covington Graham, a native Oklahoman, specializes in community engagement,
advocacy, professional development, and education initiatives. She is a member of
Leadership Oklahoma City Class 33, the best class ever.

Adrianne has worked in legislative communications for the Oklahoma State Senate and the Oklahoma Education Association and is the former Director of the Training & Development Center at OSU-OKC where she managed several adult education programs and grant initiatives. Adrianne has also served as Communications Director for a statewide political campaign.

She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma where she earned a BA in Administrative Leadership and a Master’s of Human Relations with an emphasis in Organizational Development.

Adrianne is an education advocate and currently serves on the Youth Leadership Exchange Board and is an active member in her community through volunteer work with nonprofits such as Arts Council, Western Avenue Association, and Leadership OKC. She is a member of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Networking group, an alumnae of Leadership OKC, and serves as a mentor each year for a youth class member in YLX. Adrianne also serves on the Steering Committee of the Central Oklahoma STEM Alliance (COSTEMA).

An experienced policy writer, Adrianne understands the technical nature of grant writing while also understanding the importance of relationship building in all fundraising efforts. She is the mother of a Kinesiology major and understands the importance of a quality STEM education at an early age. This is the basis of her desire to provide quality STEM education programs in Oklahoma as well as provide resources for parents to spark interest in their children at an early age in STEM education.

CEO/Executive Director/Board CommentsOEF is currently seeking individuals interested in increasing STEM education opportunities across the State of Oklahoma. We seek active members of the community who are willing to dedicate their time and energy to fundraising efforts through individual and corporate requests.

An extension was requested by the OEF Accountant and the OEF 2015 Form 990 is currently being prepared. The 2014 data is the most recent at this date (October 31, 2016).

Per the IRS website: Tax-exempt organizations can request an automatic 3-month tax extension and an additional 3-month (non-automatic) tax extension if the first 3 months weren’t enough. Note that the IRS requires organizations to demonstrate “reasonable cause” for the additional tax extension.

It is not uncommon for non-profit groups to be busy and understaffed, and getting a tax extension can give them the time to ensure that their tax return is in full compliance.

Foundation Staff Comments

All prior year financial information is from IRS Form 990s.

FY2012 and FY2014 had prior period adjustments of $19,545 and ($3,467), respectively.

Organizations with a GiveSmartOKC profile are responsible for updating information annually within 45 days following the end of their fiscal year.